World’s Smallest Cat Mr. Peebles: Facts

Story:

Smallest Cat Mr Peebles may look like a kitten, but he is actually 2-year-old. The tiny cat got its size from a genetic defect that stunts growth. At just 6.1-inch (15.5 cm) high and 19.2-inch (49 cm) long, he currently holds certification from The Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest cat.

Analysis:

The story in question is a picture message shared widely on Facebook and other online platforms since at least 2004. It claims to show a cute photograph of the World’s Smallest Cat Mr. Peebles. At just 6.1-inch high and 19.2-inch long, the cute little kitten is said to be verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, and that its tiny size is due to a genetic defect that stunts the feline’s growth. The claim is a mixture of hoax and facts.

Picture from Photoshop Contest

About the Picture

The photograph claiming to show the smallest cat in the world, Mr. Peebles, is in fact, taken from a photo editing contest on website Worth1000.com that ended back in Aug. 2005. TBA, the user who posted it in ‘Sickening Cute’ category of the website backed the first place in the contest.

Actual Mr. Peebles CatActual Mr. Peebles Cat

About Mr. Peebles

Although the story comes with a photoshopped picture of a kitten, the described identity of Mr. Peebles is fact. The real cat, Mr. Peebles, whose pics can be seen in Images, was reported to be the “Smallest Living Domestic Cat” in 2004 by Guinness Book of World Records. As you can see from his images, the two cats do not appear same at all. Back then, weighing in at 3.1 pounds, Mr. Peebles was 6.1 inches tall, and 19.2 inches from nose to the tip of his tail. The two years old kitty lived in central Illinois and had a genetic defect that stunted its growth. You can read more about Mr. Peebles here.

Actual Mr. Peebles Cat

As of this writing in October 2014, the Guinness record for world’s smallest living domestic cat (height) is held by Cye, a three-year-old male munchkin cat in Ontario, Canada, who measured 5.35 inches from the floor to the shoulders on 16 December 2013. You can see Cye in below picture.